Greening the Concrete Jungle: Solarizing Cement Factories
The average payback period of a grid-connected solar power plant in a cement factory is around 5-4.5 years, although it can change based on the electrical load of the plant.
Best approach to integrating the CST technology in a conventional cement plant is to use solar tower system with solar reactor at the top of the solar tower or preheater tower. Additionally, the use of non-conventional sources of energy in cement production reduces a lot of anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere.
Cemex and Synhelion will now take further steps toward constructing a pilot cement plant powered by solar energy. Fernando A. González, CEO of Cemex, stated, "I am convinced we are getting closer to the technologies that will enable net-zero CO₂ cement and concrete production.
A conventional cement plant (Kotputli Cement Works (KCW), an UltraTech Cement Limited manufacturing unit) at Kotputli, Jaipur, Rajasthan, was investigated for solar thermal application. According to Indian Minerals Yearbook 2020, the plant produced 2.37 million tons, while the production capacity of the plant is 4 million tons.
Cemex and Synhelion have made significant progress in their joint effort to develop fully solar-driven cement production. They have scaled their technology to industrially-viable levels, enabling the continuous production of clinker, the most energy-intensive part of cement manufacturing, using only solar heat.
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